Gen Y: Tips on Time in the Workplace

If you want to be professional and productive, managing the way you use your time is a good place to start. Time is relative. A minute could seem to last an hour while a month can pass in the blink of an eye. Using time effectively is quite possibly the most important aspect of the business world, because time, as we all know, is money.

Gen Y has a distinct view of time. Though personally being even a minute late for anything just about gives me a heart attack, the general stereotype is that Gen Y sees time in a more relative manner than previous generations. Showing up 10-15 minutes after a scheduled time is still considered “on time” to many of us. With that being said, Gen Y needs to pay careful attention to others’ time standards. If showing up a minute late means you’re late and therefore unprofessional in the eyes of your boss (or potential employer) then you’d better get there five minutes early. Adhering to an overall corporate culture and sense of time is extremely important. Doing so increases the productivity level of everyone that you work with, helping projects run more smoothly, and ultimately communicating respect between you and your coworkers.

Our lives are packed with communication technology, it’s everywhere; sitting on your desk, in your pocket, in the dashboard of your car, everywhere. So yes, you could respond to that text message or that email within 30 seconds of receiving it and be on your way. Or, you could wait. Instead of letting the technology dictate when you get to those emails, YOU decide when to open them and respond. Though that may seem counterintuitive to some, this practice allows for more focused work with fewer interruptions. Make time for emails and texts, they’re still important, but they do not need to be attended to within seconds of receiving them.

By taking a look into how time is utilized in your workplace, and by allocating specific time for potential distractions you can be efficient and effective in the workplace, even with all of our generational predispositions.